Ratepayers on the Gold Coast will be charged a $3 koala tax from July this year in an Australian-first program to buy land to protect their habitat.

The tax will contribute towards a $10 million fund that the Gold Coast City Council will primarily use to purchase land.

The council said it is the first time a local government has created a levy specifically to help a species.

Mayor Tom Tate said there are a number of ways the fund will help protect koalas.

“We are going to be protecting the two main things that are dangerous to koalas — that is domestic dogs and getting hit by cars — so we will be spending money also to put in protective fence to areas that is of high risk to the koalas,” he said.

Ms Waterman said her organisation would judge the success of the tax and the koala fund on their ability to save animals.

“Do they manage to persist into the future? Will we see a decrease in spread of disease? Will we see a decrease in stress? Will we see a decrease in areas in what we would call overcrowding? Will we see a decrease in those things?” she said.

The conservationist said the tax could be replicated in other parts of the country if successful.